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Steve Coogan and Carol Vorderman have publicly lent their support to the Liberal Democrats as the party conference kicks off with a call for electoral reform and tactical voting.

Statistics from the party said the Conservatives now have 56% of seats in the Commons, despite only receiving 44% of total vote share at the last election.

Lib Dem parliamentary representation in the Commons amounts to a mere 1.6%, even though they secured 11.6% of the vote.

Read more: Four stunning by-election wins have buoyed the Lib Dems – analysis

The party has long called for the current “first past the post” system to be scrapped and be replaced with “proportional representation” – where the percentage of the votes a party gets across the country determines the number of MPs they send to parliament.

And now they have celebrity backing, with actor and comedian Mr Coogan using a video message played at a conference rally in Bournemouth to say the current electoral process “robs millions of people of their vote” and “millions of people’s voices go unheard”.

 Steve Coogan speaking to the Lib Dem conference
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Steve Coogan speaking to the Lib Dem conference

Ms Vorderman – best known for her time on Countdown – agreed with the need for change in her own video message to the gathering, saying: “We desperately need to end a system where only marginal seats matter, end a system which delivers parliaments that fail to accurately reflect votes cast and end a system where only the winner’s votes count.

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“It doesn’t deliver parliaments that properly reflect the will of the nation.”

But to be able to make that change, both stars called for the public to be tactical in how they used their votes when the next national ballot comes.

Ms Vorderman said it was “absolutely vital that we come together to defeat the Tories”, adding tactical voting on a seat by seat basis was “the first step” towards change.

Carol Vorderman addressing the Lib Dem conference
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Carol Vorderman addressing the Lib Dem conference

And while admitting he normally votes Labour and was not a member of the Lib Dems “despite the beard and the fleece”, Mr Coogan added: “Where I live in Lewes, the candidate best placed to kick the Tories out is the Lib Dem candidate, so I’ll vote for them.”

Read more:
Lib Dems gear up for ‘celebratory’ conference – but can they keep up the momentum?
Ten conference moments that made headlines

Speaking to Sky News in the run up to conference, Lib Dem MP Labour Moran said proportional representation would be “on the agenda” as the party “hasn’t lost its roots”.

But critics of the system say it could allow more fringe parties with extreme views to get seats in the Commons.

At the rally, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey – who will appear on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips today – closed proceedings with the party’s giant clock, which it used to hammer home its message that “time’s up” Tories after its successful local election results in May.

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Sir Ed Davey celebrated in Windsor last May after his party snatched control of the local council from the Tories.

He told the gathered MPs, councillors and activists: “While the Conservatives have counted the last four years in fines for partying during COVID, in scandal upon scandal, in the prime ministers that have left in disgrace and the lettuces that outlast them, we actually have something to be proud of.

“We can count our four years with by-election victory after by-election victory, with making history with the size of the majorities we’ve overturned and with our stunning local election success. “

He added: “This government is living on borrowed time. We know it. They know it. And when they finally decide to call time on so many years of shambles and sleaze, the Liberal Democrats will be ready.”

Keep up to date with all of the news from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth on Sky News via both TV and online.

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Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips

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Just 25% of public think Sir Keir Starmer will win next election – with welfare row partly to blame

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Just 25% of public think Sir Keir Starmer will win next election - with welfare row partly to blame

Only a quarter of British adults think Sir Keir Starmer will win the next general election, as the party’s climbdown over welfare cuts affects its standing with the public.

A fresh poll by Ipsos, shared with Sky News, also found 63% do not feel confident the government is running the country competently, similar to levels scored by previous Conservative administrations under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak in July 2022 and February 2023, respectively.

Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM

The survey of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain was conducted online between 27 and 30 June 2025, when Labour began making the first of its concessions, suggesting the party’s turmoil over its own benefits overhaul is partly to blame.

The prime minister was forced into an embarrassing climbdown on Tuesday night over his plans to slash welfare spending, after it became apparent he was in danger of losing the vote owing to a rebellion among his own MPs.

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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill

The bill that was put to MPs for a vote was so watered down that the most controversial element – to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments (PIP) – was put on hold, pending a review into the assessment process by minister Stephen Timms that is due to report back in the autumn.

The government was forced into a U-turn after Labour MPs signalled publicly and privately that the previous concession made at the weekend to protect existing claimants from the new rules would not be enough.

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While the bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night, with a majority of 75, 49 Labour MPs still voted against it – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

It left MPs to vote on only one element of the original plan – the cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill

An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to prevent the bill progressing to the next stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.

The incident has raised questions about Sir Keir’s authority just a year after the general election delivered him the first Labour landslide victory in decades.

Read more:
How did your MP vote on Labour’s welfare bill?
The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost

And on Wednesday, Downing Street insisted Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was “not going anywhere” after her tearful appearance in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions sparked speculation about her political future.

The Ipsos poll also found that two-thirds of British adults are not confident Labour has the right plans to change the way the benefits system works in the UK, including nearly half of 2024 Labour voters.

Keiran Pedley, director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Labour rows over welfare reform haven’t just harmed the public’s view on whether they can make the right changes in that policy area, they are raising wider questions about their ability to govern too.

“The public is starting to doubt Labour’s ability to govern competently and seriously at the same levels they did with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s governments. Labour will hope that this government doesn’t end up going the same way.”

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Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and a reminder of tough decisions ahead

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Emotional Reeves a painful watch - and a reminder of tough decisions ahead

It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.

The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.

But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.

Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA

It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.

Reeves looks visibly upset as Starmer defends welfare U-turn – politics latest

Her spokesperson says it was a personal matter that they will not be getting into.

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Even Kemi Badenoch, not usually the most nimble PMQs performer, singled her out. “She looks absolutely miserable,” she said.

Anyone wondering if Kemi Badenoch can kick a dog when it’s down has their answer today.

The Tory leader asked the PM if he could guarantee his chancellor’s future: he could not. “She has delivered, and we are grateful for it,” Sir Keir said, almost sounding like he was speaking in the past tense.

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Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset behind Keir Starmer at PMQs. Pic PA

It is important to say: Rachel Reeves’s face during one PMQs session is not enough to tell us everything, or even anything, we need to know.

But given the government has just faced its most bruising week yet, it was hard not to speculate. The prime minister’s spokesperson has said since PMQs that the chancellor has not offered her resignation and is not going anywhere.

But Rachel Reeves has surely seen an omen of the impossible decisions ahead.

How will she plug the estimated £5.5bn hole left by the welfare climbdown in the nation’s finances? Will she need to tweak her iron clad fiscal rules? Will she come back for more tax rises? What message does all of this send to the markets?

If a picture tells us a thousand words, Rachel Reeves’s face will surely be blazoned on the front pages tomorrow as a warning that no U-turn goes unpunished.

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Trump’s crypto ventures have added $620M to his net worth — Report

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Trump’s crypto ventures have added 0M to his net worth — Report

Trump’s crypto ventures have added 0M to his net worth — Report

With the US president’s ties to his family-backed business, World Liberty Financial, and a memecoin launch, Donald Trump has seen his personal wealth increase by millions in 2025.

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